>> osgood: good morning. i'm charles osgood and this is sunday morning. the sunday morning after thanksgiving, the third day of the holiday shopping season or even the fourth if you count the thursday night opening for some retailers offer. more flexible hours and sales floor makeovers are part of the answer to that seasonal questi question: what's in store? the classic retailers of old will be able to adapt to our changing ways is the question anna warner will be considering in our sunday morning cover story. >> reporter: is this the department store of the future? ceo ron johnson says in order to thrive, j.c. penney needs to be a destination. >> in the age of the internet you have to do more than be a place to buy. you have to be a place people love to be. >> reporter: which may describe eric nordstrom's department

store to a t. >> i think we're fortunate. reporter: ahead on sunday morning, rethinking the department store. >> osgood: kid rock is the stage nature of a detroit area music star who is committed to turning the motor city around. he's a performer with a reputation for doing things his own way, as tracy smith will be showing us. ♪ >> reporter: kid rock made his name as a hard-drinking musical maverick. he's all of that plus a few things you'd never expect. >> love antiquing. reporter: are there other things that you do that maybe don't jibe with the kid rock image. >> interior decorator. reporter: seriously? yeah. reporter: a visit with the colorful kid rock. later on sunday morning. >> osgood: to the point is a story from mo rocca. an homage to a timeless hand held word processing device.

>> reporter: even in the age of the i-pad, the pencil still matters. and getting that perfectly sharpened point is still a challenge. this is very annoying when this happens. >> yeah, right. you see that on this side there's more graphite exposed. >> reporter: later on sunday morning, pencils, still big. >> osgood: richard gere has played many roles over the years. in two of his very latest he shows off his remarkable versatility. this morning rit a braver pays him a visit. >> did you want me to let the investors go bankrupt. >> reporter: on screen these days he's playing a corrupt hedge fund manager. >> it's not me! reporter: but off screen richard gere is happy to show off the inn and restaurant he has restored. this is a fine dining restaura restaurant. >> this is fine dining.

this is fine dining. >> reporter: this is as fine as it gets, right? >> yes. reporter: later on sunday morning an innkeeper and a gentleman. >> osgood: also this morning with serenaality schulte we'll meet the designer of a thanksgiving day balloon. david edelstein reviews the movie "life of pi." and more. but first the headlines for this sunday morning, the 25th of november, 2012. folks who track sales for the kick-off of the holiday shopping season say black friday sales $11.2 billion were down a little from last year. now the explanation may be that some stores opened their doors thanksgiving night, allowing shoppers to get a jump on the holiday shopping. nobody had all six numbers in last night's power ball going. so on wednesday night, the value of the winning ticket could increase to $425 million. a natural gas explosion in springfield, massachusetts, friday night injured 18 people

and damaged more than 40 buildings. the blast occurred not long after gas company workers arrived to investigate a possible leak. at least 112 people died earlier today when fire broke out in a garment factory in bangladesh. firefighters said most of the victims were trapped inside with no emergency exits leading outside the building. the cause of the fire is unknown. >> hello. osgood: the man most of us came to know as evil texas oil baron ewing larry hagman dieded with his battle for cancer. we'll have a remembrance of his long career later on sunday morning. one half of the college football championship game is set. last night notre dame beat u.s.c. on the strength of five field goals and a late-game goal line stand. with the win, the 12-0 fighting irish earned a spot in january's b.s.c. title game.

now today's forecast. the northern part of the country will be either cold or snowy and cold. the week ahead shows lots of rain around the country as well as more cool weather. florida is the sunny exception. as more cool weather. florida is the sunny exception. ,,,,,,,,,,e going shopping.

>> osgood: so what's in store for shoppers this holiday season? lots and lots of choices for one thing. including a choice of what sort of store you'd like to buy from. and these days one type of store in particular is struggling to hold its own. our sunday morning cover story is reported now by anna warner. >> reporter: it's the season for buying. this holiday season's sales are expected to ring in at nearly $600 billion as shoppers flood on-line giants like amazon, discount stores like costco and big box stores like wal-mart. lost in the shopping shuffle the venerable department store. >> yes, i know just what you want. >> reporter: it's a far cry from the days of miracle on 34th street when shoppers flocked to department stores for almost all their holiday needs. >> i'll tell you one thing. from now on, i'm going to be a

regular macy customer. >> the department store was an emporium, a place that basically carried everything for everybody. it really was the social center of a city. >> reporter: michael lysica is a department store historian. he can rattle off the many names of department stores who have gone out of business in the past 50 years. >> filene, jordan marsh, fox, allen, clothier, lip brothers... >> reporter: not to mention marshal fields, kimballs, wanamakers, all names from the past. just look at the list of the big merchants of the mid '60s. only one of the stores you see here, macy's still exists today. >> i'm sorry to say i think the era of department store is passed and i really miss it. >> reporter: which brings us to j.k. penny, the 110-year-old merchandiser is struggling to finds its way. enter new ceo ron johnson who

came here from cutting-edge retail powerhouse apple. >> my dream is to bring the department store back to its glory. the department store is really part of the fabric of the community. >> reporter: his assignment? to make j.c. penney, a store founded in wyoming james cash penny back in 1902, a shopping destination all over again. >> today we all shop everywhere. we go to target for some things, to the gap for some things. we go online to amazon. we all shop around. there's very little loyalty today in american retailing. to earn loyalty you've got to do more than help them buy. you've got to become a part of their life. >> reporter: for the past year, johnson has been working to transform all 1100 stores in 50 states into a 21st century state-of-the-art store he calls j.c.p. >> we're here today in the future j.c.p., you know, we're going to transition j.c. penney from a promotional department store to a specialty department

store which is an entirely new way to shop. >> reporter: his plan, as he showed us@this prototype store in dallas, is to entice customers with shops within his j.c.p. store, creating a minimall in each store. >> we don't call it an aisle. we call it a street. it's a place to be. it becomes a new navigation path for shopping because in the age of the internet you have to do more than be a place to buy. you've got to be a place people love to be. so the street allows you to kind of do things that you couldn't do elsewhere. >> reporter: while a woman shops for the latest fashions, her husband can be catching up on the scores at the i-pad table. i feel like i'm in the apple store. >> the kids can head over to the lego station. afterwards they might visit the in-store candy shop for a treat. throughout they'll find consistent prices for merchandise. johnson banished the coupons j.k. penny customers relied on for years. >> the reason we're not using

coupons is we would have to artificially inflate the prices 30, 40% to offer the illusion of value through a coupon. that's a fundamental choice. we can either raise our prices and have coupons or have low prices every day and try to deliver even more value periodically. we think that's a better way to run a business. >> reporter: johnson may believe it's better. but without coupons, sales at the new j.c.p. store has dropped 20% in the first three months. and have continued to decline. and j.c.p.'s stock price has dropped by half. this year alone. >> j.c. penney is a store of necessities. it's a store of sales. you can't really dress up a store that has really traditionally played a basic role and try to change it almost overnight. >> reporter: so who does have the recipe for department store success? welcome to nordstrom where the family name is still on the door

and a family member, eric nordstrom, is president of stores. last year's sales here totaled $10.5 billion. why do you think nordstrom has been successful when some other department store chains have faulterred? >> i think we're fortunate in what's been built before us. being customerson trick and really having that focus has always been there. that's helped a lot. >> reporter: nordstrom's customer focus is legendary. there's a piano player, a concierge at the front door ready to help with requests and one rule for employees dealing with customers. use your best judgment. >> people talk a lot about in order trom's return policy. which is what? >> we don't have a return policy. >> reporter: why is that? i don't know how to create a return policy that would take care of every possible situation. so we default to not having a

policy and really just approach of doing the right thing. >> reporter: the chain also uses technology to satisfy customers' desires. >> a good example of using the technology. those devices have real-time access to our complete inventory. 117 stores, our on-line warehouse in iowa. >> reporter: you can have it all right there in your hands. >> it's right there. in my day when i sold shoes, great service was if you didn't have the size, you'd pick up the phone and call other stores. that doesn't happen these days. can't you find out now? >> reporter: now what began as a seattle shoe store in 1901 with first-day receipts totaling $12.50, has become a specialty department store chain with stores in 31 states across the country. so what does eric i nordstrom think of the task in front of j.c.p.'s ron johnson. >> one of the challenges is

really to change, taking a store and really changing it in many fundamental ways. that's hard. that's something we haven't had to do. >> reporter: johnson remains unfazed. he believed his frat gees will make his department stores as popular as that other famous retailer. he has something else he'll need too: confidence. do you ever stop smiling? >> yeah, i guess. you know, it's innovation is really hard. at the same time it's very energizing. and it's so important that we invent the future and we move forward. >> reporter: what if you fail? it's not an option. reporter: not an option. no. reporter: not going to happen not going to happen.

>> guess who? osgood: up next, laughing matters. from independent experts rategies and see what criteria they use. such as a 5% yield on dividend-paying stocks. then you can customize the strategies and narrow down to exactly those stocks you want to follow. i'm mark allen of fidelity investments. the expert strategies feature is one more innovative reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. now get 200 free trades when you open an account.

[ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette you celebrate a little win. nicorette gum helps calm your cravings and makes you less irritable. quit one cigarette at a time. it's real fruit juice; crisp, sparkling water; and no added sugar. and they come in these really cool cans. you want one? i'll wait a bit. all right. mm. refreshing. ♪ everybody thinks i'm crazy >> osgood: and now a page from our sunday morning almanac. november 25, 1940. 72 years ago today. a day that will live in cartoon history. for that was the day woody woodpecker made his big-screen

debut. >> daddy, it's that woodpecker again. >> osgood: and a guest star in an andy panda cartoon called "knock, knock." >> guess who. osgood: woody was the creation of animator walter lance who told his tv show audience many years later that the character was inspired by the incessant knocking he once heard on the roof of his country cabin. >> it was a big redheaded woodpecker banging at the roof as though his life depended on it. i shouted at him. and he flew away. as he left, he made a crazy sort of a laugh. >> osgood: woody's maniacal laugh, incidentally was the creation of mel blanc who recorded it before he signed an exclusive contract to voice the warner brothers cartoon characters. woody was an immediate hit. he went on to star in dozens of

cartoons over the years. with lance's own wife grace stafford eventually providing woody's voice. with time, woody became grounder and cuter and a tad more restrained. >> woody, where are you. osgood: as the golden era of theatrical cartoon shorts faded in the 1950s, woody got a second life as a children's tv series with walter lance himself as host. though lance shut down his animation studio in 1972, woody has lived on in reruns. and he also had a brief cameo in the 1988 film "who framed roger rabbit?" >> one thing, doc, he weren't no rabbit. >> or a duck. og. woodpecker. sgood: for many years woody was a star of the macy's thanksgiving day parade. now these days he has his very own roler coaster at the

universal theme park in orlando. as the old adage has it, he who laughs last truly does laugh best. ahead, behind every balloon there's an artist. a can of del monte green beans? ♪ ♪ ♪ grown in america. picked and packed at the peak of ripeness. the same essential nutrients as fresh. del monte. bursting with life.

been shopping so smart, cashs back with your freedom card getting cash back on what? close shave and haircut fan for the ceiling. you're gonna cool off that hoooounddd! tonight you gotta get your cash back, on new slacks. use freedom on lunch with jack. everybody get! everybody get! get your cash back. chase freedom.

hershey's makes smiles. smiles make more smiles. when the chocolate is hershey's. life is delicious. >> osgood: the artist who created these works calls himself k.a.w.. he took part behind the scenes in the country's biggest thanksgiving day parade. his contribution produced quite an effect.

serena altschul has the proof. >> reporter: all the usual suspects were there. familiar faces with the millions of people lining the streets of new york city and watching at home on tv. in a turkey day tradition. the macy's thanksgiving day parade. >> macy's is proud to present a special balloon created especially for today by the internationally acclaimed artist known in the art community as kaws. >> reporter: among them was a balloon many people might not know. his name is companion, a gray-and-white creature who is a little too shy to show his face. but those who have seen his face are obsessed with the character and the man who created him. >> this is like a once in a lifetime sort of opportunity. >> reporter: k.a.w.s., k-a-w-s,

a painter and designer we first met four years ago who is now one of art's biggest draws. it wasn't all that long ago that the 38-year-old kaws was just another mischevious kid. he found his artistic voice through the illegal painting of graffiti. >> i just started simply through graffiti and drawing on my skateboard, painting walls and getting that small recognition. >> reporter: to his family he's known as brian donnelly. he grew up in the shadow of manhattan across the river in jersey city where his faded tags can still be seen on sides of buildings. donnelly used the name kaws to stay anonymous. he didn't make his real name public for many years. your name comes from what? >> it's just a combination of letters that i liked. when your whole art is based on the lettering you choose, you kind of figure out what ones

work together. i just like the shape of k. it has no meaning. >> reporter: kaws became a street legend in the '90s by drawing over bus stop ads establishing his signature mark, placing xs over characters' eyes. he then started designing products and final figures. >> my first character was called companion. >> reporter: and painting cartoon characters from his childhood. there is kind of a nostalgic feeling i get when i see it. it's like oh, those guys. >> especially the smurfs. for me that's one of the things like, you know, if i went to the dentist, i was allowed to buy a smurf afterwards. >> reporter: those paintings soon turned him into an art scene sensation. >> that's like really cool. appreciate it. >> no problem. reporter: lines wrapped around the block to buy his figures. his work graced album covers and was snapped up by the rich and

famous like hip hop star williams who commissioned dozens of pieces for his miami home. >> through our generation we look at him that he's the guy that made us pay attention to art. >> reporter: today kaws is bussier than ever. a current show of new paintings has parisiennes buzzing. >> i've been a little bit more focused on working within sort of a gallery museum environment. >> reporter: and his fan base has grown larger as his work has done the same. a 16-foot version of companion traveld the world and now sits outside the modern art museum of fort worth. it caught the eye of the folks at macy's. he was on the top of your list. >> the list was short. there was one name on it. it was his. >> reporter: amy kuhl is the executive producer of events for macy's. she asked kaws to design a balloon and all the art for this

year's parade. >> there's some projects you have to think about. immediately i was like, yes! yes, of course. it's a no brainer. >> reporter: kaws spent the past year in his brooklyn studio putting his touch on the thanks giving traditions he loved as a kid. >> when we first started discussing the balloon immediately i knew that's what i would want to do. >> reporter: you did? yeah. reporter: the 41-foot high balloon of companion was hand stitched in south dakota over the summer. in august at a secret location near the factory, we joined kaws. as he saw the character he dreamed up 15 years ago come to life for the first time. >> nice to meet you. what do you think of it? i think it's great. reporter: macy's employees tested the helium-filled polyurethane balloon as kaws

closely inspected every inch. back in manhattan, his art work was unveiled along the parade route. even a subway car was wrapped in this former graffiti artist's design. >> it's a great irony. reporter: this past wednesday families came to watch as the balloon, unfamiliar to most... >> i have no idea what it is. reporter: ... found his spot in line. >> have you heard any of the reaction so far? >> the kids don't know what's going on. some kid thought it was george washington. >> reporter: that's funny. because of the hair? >> i don't know. reporter: on the big day with papa smurf leading the way, companion bobbed through the streets of new york while kawz snapped photos like a proud father. at his little guy all grown up. >> awesome. it will a part one to top for a little while.

>> reporter: it certainly will. osgood: coming up. (gunshot). the shot heard round the world.,

(dallas theme music). >> osgood: it happened this week, the passing of the tvville and audiences around the world loved to hate for we learned of the death of larry hagman, the star of the cbs hit drama "dallas." >> i use ewing oil money to support you. >> reporter: as wheeler-dealer oil man j.r. ewing, hagman ruled over the southfork ranch and the tv ratings for 13 years beginning in the spring of 1978. >> tramp. name of the game is huge. you're destroying everything that daddy spent his life. >> reporter: episode after episode the duplicitous j.r. schemed and double-crossed his way to the top. until in the cliff-hanger season finale in the spring of 1980 somebody in his inner circle had had enough. (gunfire). dallas fans spent an entire

summer asking themselves the question, who shot j.r.? it was a testament to the acting abilities of the real larry hagman. the son of singer mary martin, larry hagman's own career was launched in the 1960s with a role at astronaut anthony nelson in the sit-com i dream of jeannenie opposite barbara eden playing the part of the jeannenie. >> i must have gone further into orbit than i thought. >> osgood: though other tv and film roles followed, it was dallas that put him on the map. >> get me the police. reporter: when the identity of j.r.'s assailant was revealed in november of 1980, as many as 83 million people in the united states alone would tune in.

>> really surprised. i thought his wife had done it. >> osgood: by then j.r. ewing was on the mend from his wounds and back in the saddle until the conclusion of the series in 1991. the very next year hagman was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, a result he candidly admitted from years of heavy drinking. the discovery of a tumor in 1995 required a liver transplant. >> you won, honey. i couldn't be happier. >> reporter: like the fictional j.r., larry hagman bounced back and early this year brought back his role in a new series of dallas episodes on tnt. on cbs this morning this past june our jeff glor asked him about his return to the ranch. >> what did you think? ya-hoo. wow! osgood: filming was already in progress for the second season of the new dallas series. larry hagman lost his most

recent bout with cancer. he died friday at the age of 81 in dallas. >> i haven't made a movie in 17 years. >> osgood: coming up, a talk with actor richard gere. >> we'll be drinking beer as i grab the hot sauce. >> osgood: but first detroit's favorite son kid rock. ment specs can help you build a personalized plan and execute it with a wide range of low cost investments. get a great plan and low cost investments at e-trade. [ male announcer ] it's that time of year. time for campbell's green bean casserole. you'll find the recipe at campbellskitchen.com. ♪ campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

[ male announcer ] it's that time of year again. medicare open enrollment. time to compare plans and costs. you don't have to make changes. but it never hurts to see if you can find better coverage, save money, or both. and check out the preventive benefits you get after the health care law. ♪ open enrollment ends december 7th. so now's the time. visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-medicare. i need all the help i can get.

i tell them, "come straight to the table." i say, "it's breakfast time, not playtime." "there's fruit, milk and i'm putting a little nutella on your whole-wheat toast." funny, that last part gets through. [ male announcer ] serving nutella is quick and easy. its great taste comes from a unique combination of simple ingredients like hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of cocoa. okay, plates in the sink, grab your backpacks -- [ male announcer ] nutella. breakfast never tasted this good. ♪ one more time, take a chance on love again tonight ♪ ♪ risk it all >> osgood: when kid rock teamed up with sheryl ceo for a song clyde last year he was showing one of his many talents. this morning he talks with our tracy smith for the record.

>> reporter: the guy who said you can't be all things to all people likely never met kid rock. ♪ not thinking about tomorrow ♪ thinking sweet home alabama all summer ♪ put your hands up. >> reporter: his sound is a mix of styles. urban rap, rock'n'roll, country and western. >> my name is kid rock. reporter: and it pays to be amuseical chameleon. kid rock has sold 27 million albums worldwide and fills arenas from coast to coast with a show that is equal parts music and mayhem. >> playing a concert for two hours, i would do every hour of the day if i could. i love to perform. the 22 hours between the next show is what kills you. >> reporter: away from the stage the party god is something of a perfectionist. >> drinking beer for me right now as i grab the hot sauce.

>> reporter: he's a self-taught musician who can play every instrument in his back-up band. kid rock lives large with his own recording studio on a sprawling estate north of detroit and a mount vernon style mansion close to downtown. so when people hear kid rock, what do you hope that they think? >> it doesn't matter. reporter: come on. it matters. >> the people that don't like me, they can go on this internet and find enough stuff to make them hate me. the people that love me, they can find enough stuff to fall in love with me and be like wow what a great guy. at the end of the day i'm all that. i'm just doing me. >> reporter: motor city's bad boy is actually from the suburbs. kid rock was born robert richy in middle class romeo, michigan, the son of a car dealer. early on, young bobby knew his future was in music. >> i was going to be successful at it. i didn't realize it would be this successful. but i thought i would hit a lick

somewhere. >> reporter: that somewhere turned out to be one of the rougher sections of detroit. bobby richy left home and moved here as a teen to pursue his love of rap. his parents were not amused. at the same time they didn't disown you. >> i think one of the most funniest times in the world is they come in the 'hood. i'm selling drugs to make money to buy records and working at a car wash. i'm standing with my buddies on one of the porches. my dad came by and picked me up for an ontario donist appointment. >> reporter: what did that do for your street cred? >> nothing. reporter: still he kept at it. bobby richy became known as "that white kid who rocks" and took the words kid and rock as his stage name. after a decade in the detroit rap music trenches he put out 1998's devil without a cause. the kid was suddenly hot. his outlaw image attracted

legions of adoring fans. and one in particular actress pamela anderson. the couple marry in 2006 and split four months later. did you think it was a forever thing? >> i thought it could be, yeah. hey, i wouldn't have gone in like that if i didn't. >> reporter: the sting of the break-up changed richy's view of relationships. >> you touch a hot stove. you get burnt. don't touch it anymore. >> reporter: that was basically it? anymore. >> i didn't touch the stove. i put both hands on it and held them there for an hour. i don't even go near the stove anymore. >> reporter: does that mean you won't get married again? >> i don't know what it means at all. it means i won't be screwing scg looking for love in hollywood ever its a great statue to do the ymca next to. >> reporter: these days he keeps his love life private and his vices in check almost. the ever-present cigar. >> yeah, it's a problem. reporter: is it? yeah. reporter: how many cigars a

day do you go through? >> these are small. five, six. if we're having a good time, ten. >> reporter: have you tried to quit? >> no. reporter: do you want to quit? >> i quit smoking. i figured, you know, that's terrible for my lungs and for my voice. i don't inhale these. you still get the nicotine i don't your blood vessels and cheeks. at the end of the day i thought it's pretty hard to replace a lung. i can buy a new lip. >> i'm happy to introduce a son of detroit, a friend, kid rock. >> reporter: richy has never been shy about speaking out for what's closest to his heart. his song "born free" became the unofficial campaign anthem for mitt romney. ♪ born free ♪ i was born free >> reporter: and on his critically acclaimed new album, rebel soul his hometown pride is front and center. this is half time at the detroit lions game on thanksgiving day. you can probably guess this

song's title. ♪ detroit, michigan >> reporter: are you going to put your seat belt on? >> we're not going far. reporter: driving around the city in his former police cruiser, you get the impression that he takes detroit's revitalization personally and that each new building is a victory. >> a lot of work to be done but there is work being done. it's not going to happen overnight. it's going to take some time. the fact that people are coming together and trying to get this back to what it once was, a great, viable city, that's what i like to see. >> reporter: he does more than just talk about it. this concert last spring was a benefit for the detroit symphony. only one of many charities he's raised money and written checks for. kid rock is a high-minded civic benefactor in a low-brow disguise. >> those of you with the teuks he'd owes and suits, thank you. for those of you without them,

rock on [bleep]. >> reporter: how much money did you give away last year? you have no idea. just give me a ballpark. >> i don't know. i'm sure you can google it or something. >> reporter: i think it's close to a million dollars. >> probably. how lucky am i to be able to do that? >> reporter: but bob richy is proudest of being a dad. he was still a struggling rapper when he and his former girlfriend had a son robert richy jr. kid rock fought for and got sole custody. a lot of guys would have one away from that responsibility of being a single dad. why didn't you? >> that didn't seem like an option. >> reporter: no? who would do that. reporter: you just knew from the moment that he was born that, "i'm going to take him and i'm going to take care of him." >> it might have something to do with my upbringing. thanks, mom. it just seem like the right thing to do.

>> reporter: the younger richy, now a college student, didn't adapt well to school in california during his dad's brief marriage to pamela anderson. >> i picked him up the first day. he got in the car and was choked up. i said what's wrong, buddy? all these kids do here is ride skateboards and do drugs. i was like like, hey, stay off them skateboards. >> reporter: just a joke. maybe. but behind the juvenile humor, kid rock is a man who knows just how lucky he is. ♪ sometimes i hear that song and i'll start to sing along ♪ ♪ man, i'd love to see that girl again ♪ >> i think anybody that has worked hard and has built something and has been successful can testify to how wonderful that was, how wonderful it is still is. >> reporter: you are still grateful for it. >> still grateful for it. would never sit here in front of a camera and bitch about how

tough my life is at some levels that maybe people can't understand. when that starts happening i just stay home and drink an expensively bottle of wine and be like, you know, you're doing pretty well. be thankful. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

new movie tests the limits of a relationship between man and beast. david edelstein has a review. >> reporter: a life boat drifts in the south pacific. it carries a 17-year-old boy and a man-eating bengal tiger. and that's all. it could be the ultimate mismatched buddy comedy. but director ang lee's life of

pi is ravishingly strange, mysterious and sad. the central section is a flashback, a tale told by a middle-aged man named pi about his younger self and the hundreds of days on the sea after a ship wreck that kills his family and most of the animalsen route from india to zoos in north america. it's a promise that will make us believe in god. but do we believe in pi? i won't reveal any secrets, but the look of the scenes on that life boat tells you much. it isn't real. but it isn't fake. it's in between. transdentally in between. in a realm in which the colors grow a little more brightly and the sea is a mirror in which clouds above mingle with fish

below. it's in 3-d in some theaters. i don't care if you're sick of the surcharge and it gives you headaches, see it like that and be drawn into its unique reality. >> i would have died by now. reporter: that tiger, because of a bureaucratic mix-up, has the human name richard parker. but it isn't... hold on, i need to say this way -- anthropomorphasized. however much it learns to tolerate pi, it's an animal. awesome and deadly. as in the book by juan martell the teen-aged pi longs for a sign from god, any god, cristian, hindu, muslim. but the true higher power of life of pi is abstract. it's story telling. something soul-killing has taken place on that sea. without sentimentality or making

the tiger cute and humannesque, pi transforms it into something he and we can live with. the film is splendid. probably you want to know about the computer-generated effects, the c.g.i. tiger and so forth. don't look at me. i got this book in the mail: the makings of life of pi. cool, huh? you take it. i'm sure there are many behind-the-scenes videos online, but here's the thing. i don't care. once upon a time, people could say, "wow" and wonder, "how did they do that?" and leave it there. now "how did they do that?" is a cottage industry. well, i'm going to leave it at wow. life of pi speaks to my religion, a faith in the

transformative power of story telling and the magic of movies. >> osgood: next, we've penciled in mo rocca. >> we're number two. ,,,,,,,,,,,,

osgood: it's 30 days until christmas. in the coming weeks we'll be looking at intriguing holiday offerings, large and small. as you can see even in our electronic age, the humble pencil is still very big. mo rocca helps us get right to the point. >> reporter: any self-respecting school kid knows what it takes to get the job done. >> to get ready for her spelling lesson, susan makes sure she has

a pencil that has a good and sharp point. >> you just want this point refreshed. >> sure. reporter: but david rees is no kid. >> this is how they would have sharpened pencils, you know, 110 years ago. >> reporter: he's a professional pencil sharpener. >> a bit of a stubby point. so you're going to use it. you don't need protective tubing. i've done them as wedding gifts, anniversary gifts, graduation gifts. some people keep them on their desk as a reminder to try to do their best work. >> i just literally... reporter: the author of a book on how to sharpen pencils, rees has been leading pencil sharpening workshops across the country. >> i sharpen pencils. i'm pretty good at it. >> reporter: for just $20, he'll sharpen your pencil, bag the shavings, cap the point with

rubber and sheaf the pencil in a shatter-proof display tube to ensure safe delivery from his beacon new york studio. he even includes a certificate. if it all seems like an elaborate joke, consider this. >> i've done almost 600 pencils. listen, i love jokes and i love to have a good time. if it was a joke, i wouldn't have taken it this far. this is a lot of work. >> reporter: it's a nice bit of attention for an implement that doesn't get much ink. >> when you really consider a number two pencil as an engineered communication device, it is still really efficient and really elegant. if steve jobs had been the one to introduce it, people would be going crazy about what a sophisticated and simple tool it is. >> reporter: at the middle school in chapel hill north carolina, rees took us to the pre-algebra classroom where he got up so often to use the sharpener, wall mounted double bird hand cranked. >> we can just go and go and go

and i can keep making jokes. >> reporter: he got in trouble for it. it's not as easy as you may remember. it's actually harder than i remember to hold that. >> you have to let the pencil know who is boss. >> reporter: if the wood isn't perfectly straight and the lead perfectly centered. this is very annoying when this happens. >> yeah, right. reporter: then the point may not be on point. >> there's a lot of wood on this side and then as we rotate the pencil, you see that on this side there's more graphite exposed. >> reporter: that's right. he said graphite. not lead. >> this is what happened. in around 1565 in england, shepherds discovered the world's first deposit of nationally occurring graphite. they started using it to mark their sheep. this was just raw chunks of graphite. initially they thought it was lead. and so as they came to bind this graphite in wood to make it more usable so it wouldn't crumble, they just continued to call it

lead. pencil lead. we never shook the terminology. but the modern pencil, going back, you know, 500 years, has never had lead in it. you could just stab yourself all day and you'll never get lead poisoning. >> reporter: it's embarrassing how little we know about the pencil. >> glue is put in the grooves. then the graphite cores are laid in the grooves. and then glue is put on the top. it's like a sandwich. >> reporter: it's a pencil sandwich. >> exactly. reporter: at the musgrave pencil factory in shelbyville, tennessee, once known as pencil city, usa, they still make pencils the way henry's grandfather did. it's not like it has to get shot through. >> you just lay it in the groove. >> reporter: how many different colors? >> we paint at least 80 different colors. >> reporter: wow. those are purple. so many different designs.

>> then you have excited kindergarteners. >> reporter: that pencil will make a kindergartener really excited. >> absolutely. they're going to see these and say, oh, boy. >> reporter: do people who work at pencil factories go around saying we're number two? we're number two? he is the ultimate pencil pusher. would you ever write a love letter in pencil? >> oh, i wrote a lot of love letters in pencil. >> reporter: was that because you thought you might end up changing your mind? >> oh, no. i'm a pencil lover. >> reporter: he's not the only one. last year domestic sales of pencils were up 6.7%. it's really sharp. >> it is very sharp. reporter: space needle sharp. to keep pace, david rees had better get the lead out. >> the other day someone wanted me to come out and do something one night. i said i can't. i have too many pencils to

sharpen. that's a phrase i never thought i would say. >> osgood: just ahead, we check in with richard gere. >> there's some reason that i'm still allowed to make movies, okay. i'm not a fool. >> osgood: and later, the cold facts. w.

>> stay. stay the night with me. not because i'm paying you but because you want to. >> it's sunday morning on cbs and here again is charles osgood. >> osgood: that's richard gere and julia roberts in the 1990 movie classic "pretty woman." among the many motion pictures that have made him one of hollywood's biggest stars. more than 20 years later, he's still at the top of his game and expanding his range. rit a braver now with this sunday profile. >> you still don't understand. understand what? who i am. reporter: he's played lovers and lawyers. >> it's all show business. reporter: spies and rogues. the more outrageous i sound, the more convincing i am. >> reporter: but did you ever think that in real life, richard gere would be an innkeeper? >> it was was falling.

we invented everything that you see here. >> reporter: what you see is the bedfordford post in, a small luxury get-away that he and a business partner lovingly restored close to gere's home about an hour outside new york city. the reason that you say to yourself what i really need in my life is to run an inn is? >> i never thought to run one. i like to build. my mother says i have an edifice complex. one of the funniest things she ever said. which is true. i like to build beautiful things. >> reporter: but mostly what he's built is an extraordinary film career. his latest movie is called "arbitrage." >> these shares are going to droppate another couple bucks based on the acquisition attempt. >> reporter: with gere starring as a charming, debonair and crooked hedge fund manager. >> depending on what they decide to arrest me on, fraud

conviction gets me 20 years. >> it's a movie about his moral challenges and how one thing after another shoves him further and further up against the stone wall. with no way out. but i think as we go through the movie we realize that everyone in this movie is morally challenged. everybody. from the police to the lawyers to his own family. >> you know all the wonderful things that you do, how do you think i pay for them? >> i didn't ask you because i didn't want you to lie. >> reporter: you've got to know that people are saying about your performance in this film that it's oscar worthy. what do you think? >> people are very generous about this. of course it makes me feel good. >> reporter: now 63, richard gere has been acting since he won the lead in the king and i in high school. raised in upstate new york, he plays down his family's distinguished lineage. >> it turns out i had like five extremely distant relatives.

>> reporter: on the may flower. that were on the may flower. reporter: something to be a little bit proud of. >> believe me... please. both of my parents came from a very, very small town, agrarian town. a farming village in pennsylvania, north eastern pennsylvania. >> you know the logo of this play, that's my grandfather. >> reporter: oh, really? out in his field with his wheat, you know, just like he's growing out of the ground himself. >> reporter: gere honed his dramatic skills on stage on broadway. >> an incredibly vibrant time, late '60s early '70s in new york was a lot of experimental, exciting theater. new kinds of plays were being written that related much more to the world that the young actors, actresses lived in. the tennessee williams plays and

the gene o'neill plays. >> reporter: but then director terrence malleck offered him the lead in the 1978 film "days of heaven." playing a young farm worker with a dark past. >> one day you wake up and you find you're not the smartest guy anymore. you have to come up with a big score. when i was growing up, i thought i really would. >> i could feel when terry asked me to do the movie and we were going to start shooting, i knew my life had taken a leap. >> reporter: but the real leap came a few years later what's your name, boy? >> zach, sir. reporter: an officer and a gentleman was a box office smash. gere plays an aspiring navy pilot who grapples with a tough drill instructor. >> you're out.

don't you dare. i got nowhere else to go. >> reporter: and a challenging romance. >> you are very, very pretty girl. >> that was a really wonderful experience shooting that movie. >> reporter: as you were making the film, did you realize, hey, we've got a hit here? >> no. reporter: people are going to love this. >> no. no one knew. >> reporter: no one knew? no. it's like with pretty woman. we're making this movie. no one knew. >> you're late. stunning. reporter: but gere did know that he and julia roberts were going to click on screen. >> she came into my office. i mean, she's... she is... i mean, that woman from pretty woman was in my office. we had a good buzz going between us. yeah, this definitely could

work. >> people always do what you tell them to do. >> reporter: have you ever been in the middle of a film and you're working with a leading lady and you're saying to yourself, oh, my gosh, this is not working. we don't have that spark? >> no. why are you laughing? >> reporter: because a lot of ladies would feel a sparkle when they're around you. >> i don't think i would do a movie with someone that there wasn't that thing. i mean, you walk into a room and there's some people you go, oh, yeah, i got a buzz with that person. >> you like me? i can tell. >> reporter: and there's no doubt the audience, especially the female contingent, gets a

buzz from watching richard gere. from his early film days in "american gig low" to his 2002 golden globe-winning turn as a singing lawyer in "chicago." >> give them the old razzle-dazzle ♪ >> reporter: his looks and sex appeal have always been a big factor. you have to know over the years... >> i don't think about it snrts... that's part of the attraction. >> look, there's some reason i'm still allowed to make movies, okay. i'm not a fool. there's a lot factors that tie into that but it's not my life. it's not how i see myself. i don't look in the mirror... it's not my life. i have a very simple, straightforward life which has nothing to do with that. >> reporter: in fact his life is grounded in his buddhist faith which he says gives him

perspective. >> it's a path that i trust totally. the more energy i put into it, the more results i get, sure. >> reporter: and there is his family. after a brief marriage to model cindy crawford in the '90s, gere married actress kerry lowell in 2002. they have one son, homer. and you're really... you're an involved dad. >> oh, yeah. i was 50 when he was born. so i had kind of done myself. at that point. >> reporter: you didn't think you were going to have kids? >> i honestly didn't think about it all that much. you know, clearly i was waiting for the right woman. and then he just happened. i was overjoyed. >> reporter: and he had some new priorities. >> i'm not going to make a movie because i just need to make a movie. it has to be something that i really care about.

you know, i have a basic rule that if it's not going to be within an hour of my family where we're shooting, i probably am not going to do it. >> it's illegal. and i am your partner. >> you are not my partner! you work for me. >> reporter: luckily there's plenty of work nearby. >> osgood: save room. the scoop on gelato is coming up. at unitedhealthcare insurance company, we understand that commitment. so does aarp, serving americans 50 and over for generations. so it's no surprise millions have chosen an aarp dicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it helps cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. to find out more, call today.

there's natural gas under my town. it's a game changer. ♪ it means cleaner, cheaper american-made energy. but we've got to be careful how we get it. design the wells to be safe. thousands of jobs. use the most advanced technology to protect our water. billions in the economy. at chevron, if we can't do it right, we won't do it at all. we've got to think long term. we've got to think long term. ♪

yeah, i might have ears like a rabbit... but i want to eat meat! [ male announcer ] iams knows dogs love meat. ...but most dry foods add plant protein, like gluten iams never adds gluten. iams adds 50% more animal protein, [ dog 2 ] look at me! i'm a lean, mean flying machine [ dog 1 ] i am too! woo hoo! [ male announcer ] iams. with 50% more animal protein. [ dog 2 ] i'm an iams dog for life. not a rabbit. woof! >> osgood: take a good, quick look. serving of gelato doesn't last long under hot studio lights nor does a serving last long when it's placed before anyone with a sweet tooth. alan pizzey found plenty of those in the city that's the birth place of gelato. >> reporter: the fat one may seem an unflattering nickname for a city with the oldest university in europe, but it is

actually a compliment. bologna is the gastronomic heart of italy, the place where food is an art form. and nothing epitomizes it like the dell he's that was born here, gelato. the serving area of a gelato-ria is a feast for the eyes. a quick one on the way home from work here isn't a drink. it's a gelato. so naturally bologna is home to the first-ever gelato university. term papers here are hands-on production. this man has been teach for 25 years. >> we pasteurize at 85 degrees. we cool at 4 degrees centigrade. >> reporter: students come from around the world looking for a way to beat up employment or just looking for change. the profit margins for a gelato-ria are huge. it costs less than $2 to make a

pound of gelato which can sell for up to $15. technique did be learned in a month but perfect gelato needs more than a recipe. >> without passion, any technical part. >> reporter: this assign of the day was a basic flavor not as easy as it sounds. in the mixture, ten different kinds. the coffee break is a tasting session. and pointers from teacher on customer relations. >> it is important that the gelato tastes good, but the person has to communicate to people that our gelato is good, that our gelato is natural. >> reporter: gelato is italian for frozen but contrary to popular belief it's not ice cream. by comparison, gelato is practically a health food with a mere 7% fat content, barely a third of that found in ice cream. flavor comes from almost any

natural ingredient you can imagine. the exception is a specialty version using alcohol. a splash of deluge of proseco and the gelato covered with whipped-up fresh oranges and... sub lime. but i wouldn't want to drive after one of these. flavored frozen trees were recorded as far back as mess poe tamian times. it was an indulgence for a chris toe karates in the 16th century. this place copyrighted six of them named after the owner's children. they like to tout their product of the flagship of made in italy but the real revelation in the history of gelato was made in america. in 1903 an italian immigrant applied in washington d.c. to patent a device to produce the innovation that made gelato available to everyone.

the ice cream cone. then their wickedly wonderful temptations like these. gelato inspired prose by tolst tolstoy. and there was a woman described as eating gelato, her eyes half closed, spoon between her teeth. if you think that's too sensual an image for a frozen food, you've never had real gelato. >> osgood: next, a walk on the wild side. thanks to our explorer card. then, the united club. my mother was so wrong about you. next, we get priority boarding on our flight i booked with miles. all because of the card. and me. okay, what's the plan? plan? mm-hmm. we're on vacation. there is no plan. really? [ male announcer ] the united mileageplus explorer card. the mileage card

with special perks on united. get it and you're in. with special perks on united. of washington about the future of medicare and social security. anncr: but you deserve straight talk about the options on the... table and what they mean for you and your family. ancr: aarp is cutting through all the political spin. because for our 37 million members, only one word counts. get the facts at earnedasay.org. let's keep medicare...

and social security strong for generations to come. >> osgood: the pill grams celebrated their first thanksgiving in a largely undeveloped land full of wildlife. my, how things have changed! here are mitch butler and josh landis of the fast draw. >> ah, thanksgiving living off the fat of the land but the land is not as fat as it used to be, right? i mean all these buildings we've done. homes where there used to be trees. compared to the old days it must be tough out there for deer, beaver, wild turkey. actually the good old days weren't all that good for america's wildlife. according to an author who writes about wildlife. back when there's a lot of good wilderness for animals we hunted and trapped them out, up to 400 million beaver head fueled the fur trade. only about 100,000 remain. the deer population plummeted to 1.2% of what it was. turkeys?

just .3% of the original population was left alive. the call of the wild had become pretty quiet. >> but just before it was too late for these species, americans decided to act. a combination of government control and free-market growth got nature back on course. federal and state governments put limits on how many animals people could hunt and trap. >> industrial-scale farming took hold in the midwest. so a lot of farms back east reverted to wilderness. >> and then we sprawled. it turned out that suburbs aren't just picture-perfect for people. for animals they're good enough to eat. in fact, acre for acre, suburbs can often support larger populations of animals like deer than old growth forests can. that's because open lawns and gardens have lots of small young plants to eat compared to a forest of tall old trees. >> since hunting is illegal in most suburbs the wildlife has gone wild. >> so today there are up to 12 million beaver building dams, as

many as 40 million deer are roaming. that's more than there were when columbus arrived. and this thanksgiving, yes, there were lots of wild turkeys troing around. but this free lunch for them is costing us. according to one researcher, wildlife economic impact on crops, home landscaping, car accidents, waterways, electric lines and more, is more than 28 billion dollars a year. wildlife in america, a comeback story that has come back to bite us.

>> osgood: here's a look at the week ahead on our sunday morning calendar. on monday u.s. capitol christmas tree arrives from colorado. tuesday sees a pretrial hearing for army intelligence analyst bradley manning accused of passing government secrets to the wicky leaks website. on wednesday peter jackson's film the hobbit an unexpected journey has its premiere in new zealand. on thursday, president obama meets this year's nobel prize winners at the white house.

friday sees the official end of the 2012 hurricane season which saw 19 named storms, the third highest number ever. the word "thanksgiving" has a very real meaning for our contributor and "national geographic" photographer joel sartori. >> back home in nebraska, thanksgiving means gratitude, a look back at the past year, to pause to hold hands around the table and count our blessings. at our house, we hold hands tight these days. my wife kathy, a search-year breast cancer survivor, had a recurrence in january. her mother passed away not long after. i thought the only way things could get worse was if she backed over our dog in the driveway. how wrong i was. on a july vacation in minnesota we found a small painless lump on the neck of our 18-year-old son cole. five days later at the doctor's

office we were facing a stage three lymphoma with chemo until the end of the year. that's when the condolences started in. friends approached us haltingly as if we had already lost a child. they asked us to tell the story just one more time. how's he doing? what happened? why you? some even tear up. we tell them that we're doing okay but they don't believe us not even for a minute. you know what? we actually are okay. and by that i mean we're doing well. thankful even. here's why. in the history of humanity there's never been a better time to have cancer. genetic science leads us now to therapies at the molecular level. early detection, nanotechnology, immunotherapy and even vaccines against cancer-causing viruses mean that cancer death rates have finally started to fall. though slightly, one percent a year over the past ten years. low progress to be sure. but going in the right direction

at last. want living proof? for kathy and cole, the odds are overwhelming they'll both be just fine. the outcome still depend on what kind and what stage, just look around you. we're all surrounded by survivors. there's my brother paul and my father, my little boy's third grade teacher and my boss at "national geographic." even cole's girlfriend and her mother. the list goes on and on. ask any of them if they're thankful. every day they'll say, every day. so what are you thankful for? >> osgood: some thoughts from joel sartori. now to bob seaver? washington for a look at what's ahead on face the nation. good morning, bob. >> schieffer: good morning, charles. it's our annual books and authors show. doris kearns goodwin, bob woodward and gillian flynn, the author of the run-away best seller gone girl.

>> osgood: we'll be watching for sure. next week here on sunday morni morning. .. >> see, that's well fermented. this isn't. >> osgood: ... we join actor ben affleck on the search for >> osgood: ... we join actor ben affleck on the search for chocolate. of tablets from dell. of a whole new line it's changing the conversation. ♪ it's real fruit juice; crisp, sparkling water; and no added sugar. and they come in these really cool cans. you want one? i'll wait a bit. all right. mm. refreshing.

>> sunday morning's moment of nature is sponsored by... we leave you this sunday after thanksgiving in the company of the turkeys who got away. wild turkeys in the sierra diablo mountains of west texas.

i'm charles osgood. please join us again next sunday morning. until then, i'll see you on the radio. you know it can be hard to breathe, and how that feels. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open for 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives,

vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. (blowing sound) ask your doctor about spiriva. captioning made possible by johnson & johnson, where quality products for the american family have been a tradition for generations captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org ,,,,,,,,

spree is in custody. how fay and friends are rememberinge victim. . a manhunt's over and a man is in custody of the our friends and family are